This started life as a straightforward watermelon agua fresca, but I’ve supplemented it quite a bit for my own tastes, with lime, ginger, mint, and a little tequila. It’s a refreshing drink on a hot summer night.

Photo-wise, this was actually shot indoors and lit artificially, since I almost never get home early enough to take advantage of the sun. I tried to achieve that high-key-backlit-by-daylight look, and while this is headed in the right direction, I can’t quite get things diffuse enough with my current setup. I think, looking at it again, maybe I should have stepped the power down on the rear strobe a bit more; the blown highlights might be overdone, and I think that throws the balance of the shot a bit.

Nikon D7000 w/Nikkor 50mm ƒ/1.8 prime, 1/250s @ ƒ/4, ISO100. One SB-700 mounted in my Westcott Apollo Octabox to the rear of the scene, 1/2 power, 16mm zoom; second SB-700 to the right front of the scene, full power, 70mm zoom, bounced off a silver umbrella then through a diffuser.

Put the watermelon in a blender and pulse until liquid (you may need to add a splash of water to help the watermelon break down.) Strain through a fine mesh sieve and discard the solids that are left behind.

In the bottom of an 8 oz. glass, put the sugar, mint, and ginger. Muddle until the mint is chopped and the sugar picks up some green color. Add the lime juice and tequila and stir until the sugar dissolves. Pour the watermelon juice over. Add ice cubes, garnish with lime slices and mint sprigs.

(If you don’t want to water this down too much with the ice, cube and freeze some chunks of watermelon, and use those instead.)